Dinner with the Canadians

Colds can be both a blessing and a curse. I don't like to eat very much when I have a cold but that's because I can't breathe, can't taste anything and of course, I feel like shit. Despite of this, I was convinced by S to go out to dinner tonight at our favorite teppanyaki restaurant where we have to sit and have dinner with strangers. Great place to go if one feels like socializing which we both don't typical do much of anyway. We can only handle certain types of personalities. S made a not-so-funny joke that if we continue with our ways no one will be there for her funeral. I personally figure, hell, I'll be dead so what do I care. Anyway, we thought it was just going to be the two of us enjoying dinner in this large table meant to seat at least 10 when suddenly here comes a family, a mom, dad, a 3 year old boy and an 8 year old girl. They were very friendly, friendlier than any others we've ever sat with in this seat and eat with strangers teppanyaki restaurant. They introduced themselves to us, we did the same and we proceeded to enjoy dinner. Our chef does his thing and starts talking about the magical qualities of the scallop sauce, a favorite of many of locals who eat there. Out of the nowhere and in the presence of 2 very, very underage children, the father suddenly says "oh yeah, that is God's jizz right there!" We all stop and look at him and burst out of laughing! I couldn't believe he said that in front of his kids! It was hilarious and S was laughing so hard I'm surprised she didn't fall out of her chair. We found out that the family hails from Canada. The husband is Canadian, the wife is Russian and he works at a small IT company in town. S and I didn't try to hide the fact that we were a couple and they didn't seem to care. I personally feel very lucky that many of the people we meet by chance for the most part do not care about my relationship with S. The difference though is that where most people are polite and avoid exchanging too much information with total strangers this Canadian family seemed to be very laid back, they were very personable and they actually shared little tidbits of information about themselves. I liked them which made dinner extremely enjoyable even in the company of two very young kids. In the past year, I've started doing my best to avoid sitting near young children in restaurants to avoid being earshot of the screaming, complaining and crying. Again, I've been lucky, the few times we've been sat near children they've been very well behaved. I am afraid I am turning into an old curmudgeon. I think this all stemmed from a very bad experience I had at the Cheesecake Factory when I found myself sitting behind a very unhappy, very whiny and terribly loud child. Anyway, tonights' dinner was great and the moisture from the grill helped me breathe. I'm missing the gym - I've not been able to go all week. Work has been crazy busy but I am seeing some good changes and some potential possibilities that may hopefully pay off and help me move forward with my career. I finally had a breakthrough this winter and I finally know what I want to do if my IT career doesn't move forward soon. Knowing, I discovered, is half the battle. Spring cannot get here soon enough. I met some great guys who love paddling as much as I do and I'm looking forward to join them on some of their river (camping?) trips.